Heartstrings
by Watashi wa Ame desu
Summary: [SEQUEL TO SWEET MELODY] Remembering is good, but to him it is not. He remembers the past and not his feelings then, making it hard for him to understand why his past self was willing to sacrifice his life after all the heart aches. And, knowing the person behind his biological parents' death makes all the more hard for him.


_Summary: Remembering is good, but to him it is not. He remembers the past and not his feelings then, making it hard for him to understand why his past self was willing to sacrifice his life after all the heart aches. And, knowing the person behind his biological parents' death makes all the more hard for him._

* * *

There was a small music box by the window atop the nightstand. It was velvet red in color, and gold outlined the edges and swirls elaborated each corners. On its back was a small, elegant, silver key that stuck out of the keyhole. The music box was beautiful, and with the blue moon shining upon it brought its beauty to the fullest in an enchanting way.

A pair of dull-looking, cornflower, blue eyes blinked slowly whilst not tearing its gaze off the music box. And then, as though enchanted by the thing, two calloused hands reached to it and turned the key three times. The hands left the music box when it opened up, revealing a tiny and golden ballerina going on circles as music played its course.

It was dark in the room with only moonlight that hardly brightened the place, but enough to identify the single bed, which a person sat on, adjacent to the window and the wardrobe to the opposite. The dimly lit room soon filled with a soothing and haunting melody.

A smile was formed however small it was as the melody kept on ringing through his ears.

And then, ended smoothly in a whisper.

 _I wish mine ended smoothly, too._

The person stood up dejectedly. His silhoutte was outlined clearly as the moon peaked in the window. One can tell he was a young man with firm muscles. And then, he slowly crawled on his bed to retire for the night.

Images from what seemed to be a distant memory filled his mind once he had his eyes closed. The things he saw were vivid as though it had only been yesterday, which was not as those were from two years ago when everything came falling down on him at once.

To say his heart was shattered would be an understatement.

 _I wish I never remembered... I want to forget..._

The next time the man opened his eyes, it was already morning, which baffled him somehow. For him, he had only closed his eyes for a minute, and then when he opened them again it was all bright.

The opposite of the evening when everything was dark, because all were bright against his eyes.

The walls were painted apple green, curtains that were left draw open last night were orange, so as the bed's comforter and the elongated rug by its foot. The wardrobe, nightstand, and the frame of the bed were made of redwood, and the pillow was olive green.

Lively was the room, but the occupant was barely.

There was a muffled ringing noise of an alarm clock that seemed to come from the nightstand's drawer. It kept on ringing for at least ten minutes, but the one on bed under the comforter did not pay heed to it. However, he had to get up soon.

Shifting, the man threw the comforter off his person and sat up groggily a second later with his eyes still closed in a squinting manner. He, who wore a pair of orange pyjamas, then rubbed his sleep away, before finally getting out of bed. Tanned hand pulled the wardrobe open and lazily chose a suit to wear; a decent cream coloured suit, and went to his bathroom to his left.

He pulled on his blue necktie as he looked at his reflection on the mirror. His blonde hair shone bright.

 _How could I forget if almost everyday he keeps reminding me?_

The man shook his head, and then put on his smile.

 _...keep on smiling...Uzumaki Naruto!_

Feet in black, leather shoes stepped out into the bustling life of street where vehicles came and went.

* * *

Naruto sat in his desk adjacent to a door that lead to his superior's office. He grabbed a pile of documents, and tapped it on the table before putting it in a folder. And then, the blonde stood up, pushing his swivel chair a little to the back. It only took him less than ten steps to reach the door and knocked before taking a hold of the doorknob to twist it open. He entered the room as he pushed the door open.

"Mr. Uchiha, I need you to sign these papers." Naruto informed as he sauntered toward the desk where a dark haired man was using his laptop.

The man, whom Naruto called as Mr. Uchiha, had bluish-black suit on with a small family crest on his left chest that was in the shape of white fan and the crescent half top was red. Mr. Uchiha had a pale skin complexion, his sharp eyes were the darkest pit of black, and his face was void of any human emotions. Even so, he was handsome.

A heart throb.

"Thank you." said Mr. Uchiha, taking the folder from Naruto, who then stood still and waited, to sign the documents.

Naruto watched the other's left hand that held a black fountain pen sign the documents. _I gave him that pen as his birthday present three years ago. I haven't seen him use that until now._

Feeling the stare, black eyes turned its gaze to the blonde, who caught his eye and averted his attention to his surroundings. The man behind the desk snorted at the blonde's antics and shook his head, hiding his small lopsided smirk, before resuming on his task.

Meanwhile, Naruto thought it would be safer for him to look around the office. He noted it was big enough to occupy at least twenty people and can still move around freely. Unlike a typical office, the room was painted in light colors. The walls were beige, the tiled floor was sky blue, and the ceiling was light yellow. Apart from the desk Mr. Uchiha was using, which was made of steel and glass, and the black swivel chair that were place at the North of the room that faced a wall of abstract art, there were also other things like a brown leather couch and two armchairs in front of the desk. There was also an elongated coffee table made of semi-transparent glass, and a bookshelf to its right.

The office was bare, but it gave off a calm personality.

"Here."

Naruto turned to Sasuke, who slid the folder toward the blonde man, upon hearing the dark haired man speak. Taking the folder, Naruto fiddled it as he struggled to say something. Sasuke noticed the other's discomfort and so he asked if he needed anything else.

"It...did you sign it?" Naruto asked tentatively.

Leaning against the back rest of his swivel chair, Sasuke regarded the blonde in front of him as he crossed his right leg over the other. "No." he replied.

The blonde was flabbersgated. "B-but..." he stuttered.

"I told you, Naruto." Sasuke said slowly as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and his chin atop his intertwined fingers. "I won't allow you to resign. Where would you work then if I allowed you to?"

"There're lots of jobs out there!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly with his right fist clenched near his chest.

"Yeah. But then, you plan on living on your own." said Sasuke, cocking his head.

"I can take care of my self." replied the blonde with a frown as his shoulders relaxed.

"I didn't say you can't. What I meant is...what of the dangers out there?" Mr. Uchiha raised a brow.

"I can defend my self."

"But you can't protect your self." the dark haired man countered.

"I-" Naruto cut his self off as he thought of his superior's statement. He looked down on his toes and clenched his fists. "... Why do you care, anyway?" he asked; his voice trembled and lips quivered.

Sasuke had an idea of where Naruto was coming from, and so he furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes. "Naruto..." he called the blonde, silently warning to stop.

But, Naruto did not listen as he still went on. He said, "You killed me without remorse before...twice." without looking up as he allowed his crown hair to hide the upper part of his face.

Hearing those words made Sasuke frown as he felt the tightness in his chest. "... And, I regret it." he told the man standing before him.

It seemed that Naruto heard nothing since he stated, "You ended my mom's and dad's life."

The man behind the desk fell silent. He did not know what to say to that. All he knew was the tugging sensation in his heart. _It's painful._ He thought.

As the silence stretched, Naruto got upset. Tilting his head up a little to face the frowning man, Naruto snickered with anger building up. The blonde man marched toward the desk closer, and slammed both of his hands on it. "WELL!?" he screamed. "You feel guilty now!? Why doncha approved my resignation, huh? 'Cuz I'm tired of you reminding me almost everyday for the past two years just seeing your face!"

Sasuke had his eyes on his desk when Naruto started marching. The force of the slam did not faze him as he kept his composure calm. However, upon hearing the following words from Naruto, Sasuke had been thinking. _Is it really that painful that it's so hard to forgive?_ The dark haired man frowned even more at his own thoughts, feeling his chest tightened once again. "Do you..." he began, but paused. Looking up at the blonde, Sasuke asked tentatively, but before he could open his mouth he stopped at the sight presented to him that it left him taken aback and speechless.

Naruto was crying.

Gulping audibly, Sasuke forced his voice to work and asked, "Do you really want...to go?" he finished reluctantly.

"Yes!" Naruto glared painstakingly at the man below his gaze that sighed and relented.

"Okay..."

Sasuke pushed back a little, and pulled a drawer open where a black folder was atop other files. He picked up the folder, placed it on his desk, and opened it. He read the words that were on a piece of white paper, before picking up his pen and sign below. He then closed the folder and gave it to the blonde. "You are dismiss." he told the other.

And Naruto gladly took the object, before wiping his tears away and walking out, leaving Sasuke in hallowed silence.

 _Is it really that painful?_ Sasuke asked Naruto mentally as he watched the door closed, willing for the blonde to come back.

 _It's painful...too painful._ Naruto thought as he made his way back to his desk and packed all his things.

"What're you doin'?" a man asked from behind the blonde who was packing things.

Pausing his task and turning around, Naruto saw someone he recognized. "Hey, Shino." he smiled.

The man now named Shino, who wore a light gray suit, only stared at Naruto through his black-tinted, round glasses. Averting his gaze to the boxes, he inquired, "D'you resign?"

"Ah, yeah." replied the blonde man as he resumed on his packing.

"Did you find a new job?"

"Nope. Not yet." said Naruto without glancing at Shino. "But, I'm I will soon. I have enough money on me to last me at least 8 months and a year at lost." taping the last box, Naruto straightened up, and faced Shino with his hands on hips and a smile on.

"You've been crying." Shino commented.

Blinking, Naruto's smile dropped as he reached his right hand on his cheek. _It's dry...so, how-_

"Your eyes are a tad bit pinkish." the dark haired man pointed out. "Did you have a fight with your dad?"

 _Dad..._ Naruto became solemn as his eyes traveled down the floor. _That's right. He_ is _my dad and not something else._ "Uhm...yeah. Kind of...you know, father and son quarrels are common." he shrugged as he looked at Shino with a sad smile.

"I know. I, some times, have a misunderstanding with my father, but we compromise always. I hope you and your dad will be in good terms soon."

"Yeah, thanks." Naruto smiled. "Anyway, I gotta go now. I still have something to do at home." _...our used to be home..._ He told Shino, who nodded, before gathering the three boxes and walking away from his co-worker.


End file.
